[PHP] A simple example for how to use fread and related methods for reading the contents of a file.

1-read-file.php

<?php

/**
 * Retrieves the contents of a file at the specified filename.
 * 
 * @since    1.0.0
 * 
 * @param    string    $filename    The path to the file to read.
 * @return   string                 The entire contents of the file.
 */
function acme_read_file( $filename ) {

  // Check to see if the file exists at the specified path
  if ( ! file_exists( $filename ) ) {
    throw new Exception( "The file doesn't exist." );
  }
  
  // Open the file for reading
  $file_resource = fopen( $filename, 'r' );
  
  /* Read the entire contents of the file which is indicated by
   * the filesize argument 
   */
  $content = fread( $file_resource, filesize( $filename ) );

  fclose( $file_resource );
  
  return $content;
  
}